Matthew Wertz, Republican, says he has personal reasons.

In a brief telephone interview Tuesday, Wertz, 42, of Lebanon County, cited "personal and medical reasons" for his decision. He would not elaborate.

Nor would Wertz say whether he would revive his campaign if circumstances permit. "That's a hypothetical," he said, "and I don't answer hypotheticals."

Though he's ceased campaigning, Wertz's name will remain on the fall ballot. The deadline to withdraw was in August.

Wertz's decision leaves Holden, 49, of St. Clair, unchallenged. Holden, a onetime Schuylkill County sheriff, has served in Congress since 1993.

Wertz, a Navy veteran who has served in Afghanistan, announced his candidacy in February. Because of his late entry to the field and neophyte status, Republican leaders told Wertz he'd have an uphill battle against Holden, whose conservative positions on abortion and gun rights have made him popular with the district's GOP voters.

"I told him, "You're starting several months late and you have no name recognition; other than that, you're doing fine,"' said Charles Gerow, a Harrisburg political consultant who briefly served as an adviser to Wertz.

Since entering the race, senior Republicans said Wertz has kept a low profile. He has struggled to raise money in a vast district that includes Schuylkill County and parts of Berks, Dauphin and Lebanon counties.

Through June 30, Holden had $584,312 in his campaign war chest, compared with Wertz's $12,463, Federal Election Commission records showed.

"If he'd told us about this in August [before the withdrawal deadline], we could have scrambled to find someone," Schuylkill GOP Chairman Dan Daub said.

Still, Daub said, Wertz "was always a long shot."

Republicans who control the state Legislature redrew the 17th District in 2001 to strengthen the re-election chances of former U.S. Rep. George Gekas of Harrisburg, whom Holden defeated in 2002. In 2004, Holden bested G. Scott Paterno, son of the Penn State University football coach, to win his second term.

Wertz's abrupt exit could make it more difficult for Republicans to unseat Holden, a meat-and-potatoes politician with a reputation for being accessible if unglamorous.

Republicans "made a Herculean effort to defeat [him] the last two times he ran," said G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. "The string ran out."